The Screengrab : dr. no

Greenbriar Picture Show Remembers When 007 Landed in the Dustbowl

Phil Nugent — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:30:00 GMT

John McElwee's Greenbriar Picture Show blog has a nifty feature recalling how the James Bond franchise had its launch on American soil "in Spring of 1963 when United Artists saturated 450 Midwest theatres and drive-ins." Rather than the glossy New York/L.A. red carpet premiere one might have expected for Her Majesty's finest, "Dr. No was hosted for three weeks in fly-over country before landing in New York as part of United Artists’ 'Premiere Showcase', booking new product in metropolitan and neighborhood theatres day-and-date with the Broadway opening. These were really just more saturation dates given a new label." United Artists had high hopes that 007 could repeat the box-office success he'd already established overseas, but the movie was still a "UK import...[which] were always notoriously tough merchandise. Most wilted in art houses and on exchange shelves. A British (cultural) invasion was imminent but not yet upon us. Dr. No differed for being keyed from its beginning to reach an international audience, with action and sex the focal points crossing borders everywhere. United Artists was committed to James Bond, viewing the series as a long-range investment likely to gather momentum even if initial returns were modest. The American campaign began in earnest with a showing of theatre and television trailers to UA field men and trade press in February of 1963. Exhibitors were encouraged to use tie-ups (particularly the paperbacks) rather than just running the pressbooks ads, as 007’s penetration into the national consciousness was very much a goal yet to be accomplished." It's become a well-established part of the legend of James Bond that the superspy got a foothold in the U.S. market because of President Kennedy's much-publicized enthusiasm for the Ian Fleming books, but, McElwee wonders on behalf of the publicists of the day, "how many Podunk moviegoers shared his rarified tastes?"

Dr. No began May 29 at eighteen theatres, then widened out to eighty NYC venues for mid-summer play-off. Its Washington DC playdate got a publicity stimulus when the 1963 Memorial Day parade honoring astronaut Gordon Cooper passed a marquee... Stunts included girls 'wearing' the Fleming novels for street ballys, and the inevitable bikini models displayed where volunteers showed up (generally in exchange for passes and press notice)." By the time the smoke had cleared, Bond had gotten his ass kicked by Irma la Douche. "It was reissues that leveled the playing field for Dr. No, plus foreign rentals way in excess of what the film realized domestically. Once the James Bond craze caught fire with Goldfinger, UA was quick to repackage their first two 007 features. Dr. No and From Russia With Love were offered 4-14-65 as a double feature and at terms of 50% to the distributor. Theatres were swamped, as many fans hadn’t noticed the secret agent prior to seeing Goldfinger. Now they were intent on catching up, and this time Dr. No realized a brisk $2.255 million in domestic rentals, nearly what was recovered during its original release." In those pre-home-video years, the early Bond movies would draw paying crowds to packed theaters again and again, until Dr. No made its bow on network TV on November 10, 1974. Since then, "Dr. No, along with the rest of the James Bond series, have had incredible shelf lives of over forty-five years and counting. There probably isn’t a minute ticking by when one or more aren’t generating profits somewhere."

In Other Blogs, Starring Roger Ebert as The Phantom

Scott Von Doviak — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Forget the four decades of movie reviewing, Pulitzer or no. Roger Ebert was clearly put on this earth to blog. His latest entry is a freewheeling reminiscence of his longtime sparring with Gene Siskel as well as a good-humored analysis of his physical appearance, then and now. “What does it feel like to resemble the Phantom of the Opera? You learn to live with it. I've never concerned myself overmuch about how I looked. I got a lot of practice at indifference during my years as the Michelin Man. Yes, years before I acquired my present problems, I was not merely fat, but was universally known as ‘the fat one,’ to distinguish me from ‘the thin one,’ who was Gene Siskel, who was not all that thin, but try telling that to Gene: ‘Spoken like the gifted Haystacks Calhoun tribute artist that you are.’”

Andrew O’Hehir goes Beyond the Multiplex to contemplate the cult of WALL-E. “Like all contemporary parents, I love Pixar, because its movies ingratiate themselves to adults without condescending to children…On the other hand: WTF? WALL-E is a cartoon, dammit. It's a pretty good cartoon, one that blends together a lot of half-baked themes from more serious works of film and literature into a clever pastiche flavored for today's kidult tastes. I liked it fine, and the overreaction in some quarters is not Pixar's or Stanton's fault. But don't insult our intelligence by claiming that it's the best movie of the year or the best animated film ever made or a masterpiece or a mantelpiece. It might be the third-best Pixar movie of the decade. Which, hey, is not nothing.”

Over at The House Next Door, Dan Callahan considers the early work of Carole Lombard. “Even worse than White Woman is Bolero (1934), where Lombard has to try to act and even dance with the wooden George Raft. It’s a dull movie, but it does boast a defining moment for Lombard: she strips down to her slip again, and Raft dares her to dance something for him. Lombard’s face lights up, as if she’s thinking, ‘What the hell,’ (or ‘What the fuck,’ since she was addicted to longshoreman language). She stomps across the screen in her slip and stockings, while Raft and everyone in the audience thinks, ‘This woman must be one of the best lays in the world.’”

At The Auteurs, Glen Kenny wonders whatever happened to James Bond’s sense of humor. “In Dr. No, Connery's Bond was suave and very chilly, his wit exceptionally mordant—as exemplified in the famous kiss-off ‘You've had your six.’ Bond's a little looser in From Russia With Love, and by Goldfinger he's letting the bon-mots fly, from his explanation as to why that brandy is disappointing to his very square observation about how to best listen to the Beatles. But that's not to say that Bond isn't pissed off at the murder of Jill Masterson—he is, and plenty. Here is where the genius of Connery's characterization registers most strongly. Andrew Sarris pegged Connery as a superb physical actor after his purposeful shipboard stride to rescue a near-drowned Tippie Hedren in Hitchcock's Marnie. If, facially and verbally, Connery's Bond gives the impression of a smart cynic, his body language—his bearing, the way he walks, and more—tells a different, more purposeful, story. It's safe to say that no subsequent Bond man, no matter how gifted an actor, ever tried to play that kind of double game.”

And in List-o-Mania this week, Spoutblog offers the 10 Most Accessible Foreign Films of the Last Ten Years, including Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. “The running time of 3 hrs. 43 min. probably seems like a deterrent, but this Bollywood film really does feel a lot shorter than it is. Really. And anyway its compelling story of an underdog cricket team is familiar enough that you don’t have to pay too much attention if you don’t have the time — though it will be difficult to let your attention stray except for during some of the less-adequately translated musical numbers that aren’t so significant or relatable to most Western viewers. Just think of this film as your typical Hollywood sports movie, except instead of the final game being quickly highlighted in the last 30 minutes, it’s seemingly depicted in its entirety for more than an hour.”

Thursday Poll for November 20, 2008

Paul Clark — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

With the U.S. release of Quantum of Solace last weekend, Bond-mania was in full swing, and for last week’s poll we couldn’t help but play along. We asked you to select your favorite from the Screengrab list of the Top 5 Bond Movies, and the favorite of our readers was the third 007 adventure, 1964’s Goldfinger. Taking in 38% of the vote, the Connery classic outpaced the competition, followed by my two personal favorites From Russia With Love and the ever-underloved On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (I go back and forth as to which I prefer), with 31% and 15% respectively. Bringing up the rear were Connery’s first and last official Bond movies, Dr. No and Diamonds Are Forever.

We’re still reeling from Warner Bros.’ move of the latest Harry Potter movie to next summer, which left us without an excuse to run a Potter-themed poll this week. So in a pinch, we found ourselves turning once again to Bond. By now, it’s become so widely-accepted that Sean Connery is the quintessential Bond that it’s gotten downright unfair to the other actors who’ve donned the tux. But without Connery in the mix, things get much more interesting, and more competitive. So, we ask you- who’s your favorite Bond actor not named Sean Connery?

Which of these guys made the best 007? | BuzzDash polls

As always, the comments section is open for you to make a case for your favorite, or just in case you want to write in “Woody Allen as Jimmy Bond” or Barry Nelson for all you smartass classic TV fans. See you next week!

Screengrab Salutes: The Best & Worst James Bond Films of All Time! (Part Four)

Andrew Osborne — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:30:00 GMT

THE BEST:

8. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)

One of the biggest hits and best-received films in the series, and deservedly so, even though it's now underrated, partly because of the sequence in which Sean Connery, as Bond, is supposed to pass for Japanese by means of eye makeup and a modified Beatles wig. Actually, the location shooting is a pretty good commercial for Japan, and in Connery's last appearance as Bond before his first official retirement from the role, his relationship with the Bond girls is sweeter-spirited than ever before. Roald Dahl did the script, which has some nifty lines, and Little Nellie may be the niftiest of Bond's gadgets to date. This is the first in the so-called "Blofeld" trilogy and the first film that lets us get an actual good look at the SPECTRE uber-baddie. Here, he is played by Donald Pleasance with a scar, an accent, and a pussycat; only the pussycat would be adopted by any of the actors who would pick up the role in the films to come.

7. DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)

Although some felt it went too far over the top with its invisible car and ice palace and whatnot, Die Another Day, after three bland and disappointing efforts by Pierce Brosnan, was not only the best James Bond picture in years at the time of its release, but also a reminder of how much fun Hollywood blockbusters can be when they're smart, cool and light on their feet. Filled with clever 40th Anniversary references to past 007 adventures, Brosnan’s special agent swansong featured no bimbo nuclear physicists, but rather a taut, ripping yarn with some dark, topical undertones (a North Korean villain, the capture and brutal imprisonment of our hero in the opening minutes of the film, a bizarre opening title sequence featuring sexy girls and, uh, “enhanced interrogation” techniques), as well as a pretty cool old-school evil henchman (the diamond-faced Mr. Kil!), the best Moneypenny scene ever, a wicked pissah ice field car chase (with not one but two fully-loaded, weapon-packed spy cars) and a creepy CGI character that looked unnervingly like Madonna. (As for Halle Berry’s performance as Jinx, well...let’s just say it fell somewhere between Oscar-worthy and Denise Richards.)

6. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)

Arguably the best 007 movie of the Roger Moore era (and, this being the Screengrab, there probably will be plenty of argument), For Your Eyes Only scores on numerous counts: (1) not the best theme song ever, but certainly more hummable and memorable than, say, “Tomorrow Never Dies” or “You Know My Name” (Huh? What? Exactly!) (2) but definitely one of the best chase scenes ever, featuring skis and motorcycles on a bobsled track (!!!!) (3) the pre-credits death of Blofeld! (4) a relatively coherent, relatively un-winky storyline, including perfectly respectable performances by Topol, Julian Glover and Carole Bouquet as the lethal, crossbow-wielding Bond babe Melina Havelock (5) again...crossbows!!! (6) a breathtaking ascent up a pants-shittingly scary mountain followed by one of the all-time great bad guy fortress battles (7) an uncharacteristically ambiguous ending where Bond doesn’t exactly lose but doesn’t exactly win either, and finally (8) for all the abuse he gets for being old and cheesy and not Sean Connery, Moore was nevertheless the James Bond of my formative moviegoing years -– my Bond -– and these, in my opinion, were his finest two hours.

5. DR. NO (1962)

The first James Bond movie. (Though the first screen version of Bond appears in a 1954 TV adaptation of Casino Royale, in which Barry Nelson, as "Jimmy Bond", goes up against Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre -- part of it can be found on the DVD of the 1967 Casino Royale adaptation. The TV show was supposed to be the first of a series of small-screen productions for which Ian Fleming actually whipped up a number of original story outlines, but nothing came of it.) Looking at Dr. No today, it's remarkable how many of the key personnel were in place from the start: the director, Terence Young (who also did From Russia with Love and Thunderball, and, more importantly, the editor Peter R. Hunt and the production designer Ken Adam, the composer John Barry, Bernard Lee as M and Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny, and of course the producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli. (They would produce the films jointly until 1975, when Saltzman dropped out; after Broccoli died in 1996, his daughter Barabara took over the franchise.) The screenplay is credited to Richard Maibaum, who would work on another dozen Bond movies as well as another lavish Cubby Broccoli production based on Ian Fleming material, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. (The script reportedly also included significant contributions from the playwight-screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz, who asked that his name not be included in the credits. Oddly enough, he had no problem with his name being included in the credits of the 1967 Casino Royale.) The movie also introduced several of the gimmicks and gambits that would define the series, not the least of which was the way it managed to simultaneously stroke and defuse the audience's Cold War tensions by introducing the sinister organization, SPECTRE, which, it was explained, was always trying to start some shit between the East and the West; presumably, if James Bond could ever wipe these bozos out once and for all, the East and the West could just ignore each other while quietly going about their business. The list of potential screen Bonds reportedly considered is said to have included Cary Grant, James Mason, David Niven (later the star of Casino Royale), and a twenty-eight-year-old male model named Peter Anthony who was selected the winner of a talent contest the producers threw for the sake of the publicity, and also maybe because they didn't have any better ideas. Sean Connery, who could just barely act at this stage of his career, is said to have given an audition that wowed the filmmakers, not with his technique or talent but rather with an undefinable but undeniable quality that clearly marked him as having been put on this Earth to play the part. Another look at the movie suggests that the quality might be defined thusly: he radiated the insolent, arrogant confidence that Bond was supposed to have by virtue of his class and superior breeding, yet at the same time was such a rough hewn bruiser of a male animal that the sheer power of his presence beat the snobbery out of that conception. And he looked good in a tux. The movie also starred the twenty-six-year-old Swiss actress Ursula Andress as the shell-collecting, knife-wielding heroine Honey Ryder, and here the filmmakers' genius may show through even more than it does in the casting of Connery. At the time, Andress' English was in such a sorry state that she required dubbing by two other women, Nikki van der Zyl to provide her speaking voice, and Diana Coupland for her singing. Clearly, it was worth it to get that iconic image of Andress emerging from the surf like Venus reporting for duty on a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover shoot. As Matthew Barney, who cast Andress in his 1997 Cremaster 5, has said, that scene represented the birth of a new kind of female sex symbol, doll-faced and curvaceous but in an athletic, physically assertive way. That's why there may be no better way of appreciating the seismic effect that the Bond films had on the culture at large than to go back and read some of the original reviews of Dr. No and goggle at how many (male) critics expressed their bewilderment at why that awful butch creature had been allowed into the movie.

Click Here For Part One, Two, Three & Five

Contributors: Phil Nugent, Andrew Osborne

Quantum of Vodka: James Bond’s Top 007 Cocktails

Scott Von Doviak — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Everyone knows “shaken, not stirred,” but as S. James Snyder reports in Time magazine, James Bond’s taste in adult beverages is not limited to the vodka martini he first ordered in 1962’s Dr. No. Fans of Ian Fleming know that wasn’t Bond’s original drink anyway, a point the 2006 reboot Casino Royale picked up on. “Reverting to the original recipe from Fleming's first Bond book, Craig's 007 ordered a drink he dubbed the Vesper — a hybrid martini that is three parts gin and one part vodka, mixed with a half-ounce of Kina Lillet. Ordering the drink, Bond's words in the film were an exact echo of the dialogue in Fleming's 1953 Casino Royale story.”

That’s far from the first time Bond has shaken up his booze order onscreen. “Audiences noticed when, in 2002's Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan saddled up to the bar and placed an order for a mojito. Sisson says the drink was already becoming popular in Miami, where he was working at the time, but that Bond's affinity for muddled mint launched the mojito to national stardom.”

Snyder goes on to provide recipes for seven of Bond’s favorite cocktails. You’ll no doubt recall the Mint Julep from Goldfinger and perhaps even the Rum Collins from Thunderball, but Bond’s most shocking drink order comes in License to Kill: “Bond rendezvous with Pam in Bimini and both order a Bud with Lime. But before 007 can take a swig, he must fight off a henchman with a gun, knocking over the beers in the brawl. Bond's cheapest bar tab ever: $3.50.”

Related:
The Top 007 James Bond Theme Songs
Goldeneye: James Bond's Birthplace

DVD Digest for October 21, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

This week, a Japanese master gets the Eclipse treatment, and the first wave of 007 Blu-Rays hits the shelves.

DVD of the Week: To those who are getting acquainted with Japanese cinema, the three biggest names to know have long been Kurosawa, Ozu, and Mizoguchi. But while the first two directors have been getting the DVD treatment for years, only a handful of Mizoguchi’s best-known films (Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff) have been released on DVD. This week, Eclipse is taking steps to rectify this, by gathering four of the master’s greatest achievements in a lovely box set. Entitled Eclipse Series 13: Kenji Mizoguchi’s Fallen Women, the box set includes four of Mizoguchi’s finest and most poetic films about the plight of Japanese courtesans and geishas, a subject to which he’d return numerous times throughout his career. Two of the inclusions are pre-war titles- Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion- while the others came after World War II, those being 1948’s Women of the Night and his final feature, Street of Shame. One of the most interesting aspects of the box set is seeing the differences between how he observes his subjects pre-WWII and post-WWII. As for the films’ other (considerable) pleasures, I’ll leave those for you to discover.

This week’s recent releases coming to DVD are headed up by two Universal releases which costar Liv Tyler, The Incredible Hulk (Universal, also Blu-Ray) and The Strangers (Universal, also Blu-Ray). But those more adventurous viewers out there shouldn’t require much persuading to watch Hou Hsiao-hsien’s first feature made outside of Asia, Flight of the Red Ballooni (Genius), starring the ever-enchanting Juliette Binoche. Also of note: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Universal), and Anaconda 3: Offspring (Sony).

On the classics front, Warner will be releasing two new DVD sets of Looney Tunes favorites: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 and Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volume 6. And Criterion will be represented this week with their new DVD pressing of Missing. Finally, James Bond is back with new “Collector’s Editions” of both versions of Casino Royale- both the late-sixties lark (MGM) and the lean, mean 2006 take on the story (Sony, also Blu-Ray).

In TV on DVD news, this week brings the latest box set for the seemingly deathless animated phenomenon, Family Guy Volume 6 (Fox). Or if you’re looking for something less oppressively “hip”, today also brings a handful of old-school series: The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series (Universal), The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Series (Warner), and The Outer Limits: The Complete Series (Fox).

Finally, the big Blu-Ray only news this week is the release of the first six MGM-made James Bond titles in the format. James Bond Blu-Ray Box Set Volume 1 (Fox/MGM) includes Dr. No, Live and Let Die, and Die Another Day, while Volume 2 (Fox/MGM) contains From Russia With Love, Thunderball, and For Your Eyes Only. I suppose we’ll have to wait for volume 3 to get more of Connery’s classics, but it should prove worth the wait. Also this week, the bloody trio of Diary of the Dead (Weinstein), Halloween (2007) (Weinstein), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Paramount).

Sean Connery's Life an Open Book

Phil Nugent — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

William Langley reports that "The huge print run of what is being optimistically described as Sir Sean Connery's autobiography is sitting in a warehouse awaiting release on the actor's 78th birthday next month." From his coronation as James Bond in the 1962 Dr. No to his possible swan song as Alan Quartermain in the 2003 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Connery was able to develop from a stud bodybuilder into a respected actor of rare power and daring, while maintaining his status as a leading international star (and sex symbol) for a remarkable four decades. His memoir is probably the most eagerly anticipated actor's autobiography since Marlon Brando's 1995 Songs My Mother Taught Me--and anyone who braved the gassy depths of the Brando book will recognize that as a shaky reference point at best. Since making good on his threat to stay retired from acting after the Extraordinary Gentlemen debacle (a project that Connery reportedly took on after deciding that he didn't understand it, and remembering that he'd turned down roles in The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings because he hadn't understood them), Connery has had plenty of time to strip-mine his memories, but what no one knows yet is whether or not he's had the inclination to do any serious digging. Langley notes that "In 2003 he pulled out of a project with author Meg Henderson, a personal friend, for a co-written book of memoirs. Two years later he withdrew from a seven-figure deal with the biographer Hunter Davies. A subsequent project with Canongate, a prominent Edinburgh publishing house, collapsed when the two parties 'failed to see eye-to-eye' on the book's content...The head of Canongate, Jamie Byng, said: 'Sean has got a great storytelling instinct. There was some beautiful Angela's Ashes-type stuff about growing up in Edinburgh, but ultimately we couldn't agree on what the book should be, and how we could move it on.'"

Connery's publisher says that the forthcoming time, Being a Scot, "fuses Connery's own experiences, including his acting career, with his efforts to track down what Scots have given to the world in art, science, and sport." This loose, baggy description really does make it sound like Songs My Mother Taught Me with a burr. Connery once said that he wasn't inclined to discuss his life "because I realized I was going to be spending the rest of my life trying to correct the inaccuracies, and I can't be bothered." With his book completed and ready for market, he may only now be realizing that the "inaccuracies", or at least other people's side of things, will be bobbing to the surface whether he declines comment or not. Just last week, he had to suffer the indignity of responding to claims by Diane Cilento--once a fine, fiery actress (Hombre, The Wicker Man) before her own retirement in the 1980s, and Connery's first wife, from 1962 to 1973--that he had verbally abused and financially deprived their son, Jason. "Sean has a problem about relationships," said Cilento, "as everyone around him knows." For his part, Connery responded by calling his ex-wife "insane" and adding, "“I haven’t seen the woman in 37 years and she knows nothing about me or my life now. Diane can’t move on from the break up of our marriage and I have already had to contend with her accusations about me being violent towards her. Now the lies seem to be getting even more vicious, and, what is worse, she is dragging our son into it." For more juicy stuff, you can wait another month and read the book. Maybe.

Why Sean Connery Never Discovered Joan Collins's Naked Body Painted Gold, and Other Dubious Claims

Phil Nugent — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:00:00 GMT

As part of its recognition of the centennial of Ian Fleming, the Telegraph had a bright idea — they turned to professional vixen Joan Collins to share her expert opinion on the evolution of Bond movies, which she never had anything to do with and which she'd never heard about until, "shortly after Anthony Newley and I became engaged, we were strolling around Harrod's when we heard a familiar Scottish burr hailing us. It was Sean Connery, who'd just been signed up to play the super-agent in Dr No. 'Congratulations,' Tony said. 'You'll be great, and I'm sure this film's going to be wonderful.' 'Oh, it'll be just another job,' Sean shrugged. 'Then I'll be waiting for the phone to ring again as usual.'...We hadn't the slightest inkling that Dr. No would be the first of a film series that was destined to become the most popular of all time and that would catapult Sean Connery to stardom." I was really hoping that the next sentence would be, "Otherwise, I'd have dumped Anthony Newley on the pavement like a hot turd and, batting my eyes at Sean, asked if he'd like to go look for the nearest linen closet," but it looks as if we'll have to chalk that up to a golden opportunity missed.

The article--which is a classic of its weird kind, as the reader follows Collins as she charts her efforts to connect herself somehow to as many dips and turns in the franchise as she can manage--establishes many a missed opportunity in Joan's and 007's shared universe. Collins turned down the Shirley Eaton role in Goldfinger because she didn't like the idea of lying around on the set with her body painted, which would indeed seem to be a deal-breaker. Her shot at appearing in the notorious rogue Bond spoof Casino Royale went down the tubes when her doctor "informed me I was in fact enceinte," which extensive on-line research has confirmed means "pregnant," no lower than eight on my list of guesses. She did feel vindicated when Timothy Dalton landed the role of Bond, because she had just been shouted down in her efforts to have him cast as her romantic partner in a TV project because the mummies in charge of the studio felt he lacked sex appeal. Here they were daring to contradict Joan in one department where she claims expert status. "Sean Connery had what's known as 'it'. I can't explain it: it's not just sex appeal, but a certain something about men that makes women go weak at the knees, and a certain something about women that makes men drool, and it's an absolute prerequisite if you're going to go anywhere in this fickle business." (Seen Anthony Newley lately?) It is Joan's informed opinion that of all the Bonds, Pierce Brosnan came closest to getting the role at precisely the right time in his life to serve as "the physical embodiment" of the character. Collins does mention that she heard that Fleming was keen on James Mason for the part--which is a new one on us, but maybe she just needed an excuse to include her story about Mason and the "small rickety plane, going through turbulence that threatened our breakfast to a repeat appearance. While Steven Boyd and I slung down copious rum punches, getting plastered to kill our fear, I noticed James Mason calmly reading his Times. 'James,' I said. 'Aren't you terrified? It's so bumpy we could crash!' Without even glancing up, James replied in his mellifluously reassuring voice, 'Oh, no my dear, I'm never frightened in planes. I fly so much, what is there to be anxious about? They're perfectly safe,' and he continued reading his paper. That's when I noticed his paper was upside down."

The Spy Who Glubbed Me: Production on Next 007 Thriller Floats Towards the Finish Line

Phil Nugent — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Some dipshit drove James Bond's car into a lake in Italy while filming Quantum of Solace, the second picture starring Daniel Craig as Bond. A stuntman whose name does not appear in press reports, probably for the same reason that the Feds discourage releasing the names of the key witnesses against Tony Soprano, "was delivering the iconic Aston Martin DBS to the film scene in heavy rain when he lost control" and plowed 007's sweet, sweet ride into Lake Garda, a body of water that few reporters will be able to resist describing as "scenic." The stunt man was taken to the hospital "with a few bruises," most of them probably administered by the producers; the car, which was hauled out of the lake and is now the world's most expensive portable hot tub, was reportedly the only one of its make available for the production.

Quantum of Solace, the twenty-second "official" entry in the Bond franchise that began back in 1962 with Dr. No, has already experienced its share of setbacks. It went through a change of directors, requiring that both principal photography and the picture's release date be pushed back; Chilean politician Carlos Lopez crashed the location shoot (after the filmmakers had used the village of Antofagasta to double for Bolivia) to criticize the filmmakers' geographic sense and compare them to the Pinochet dictatorship; weather caused the cancellation of a planned shoot at Macu Picchu last month; and on top of all that, the thing's called Quantum of Solace. Is that supposed to be a rebus puzzle, or what? In addition to the sturdy, studly Craig, the cast includes new Bond girls Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton, and Mathieu Amalric (Munich, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), popularly known as "that little Roman-Polanski-looking sumbitch", as the requisite supervillain. Quantum of Solace is supposed to open in the U.K. in late October and in the U.S. the first week of November, if there are enough survivors to finish it.

Goldeneye: James Bond’s Birthplace

Scott Von Doviak — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:00:00 GMT

GoldenEye was the 1995 James Bond movie that introduced Pierce Brosnan as 007, but it was not based on one of Ian Fleming’s books. Instead the movie took its name from the beachside villa in Jamaica where Fleming made his home and wrote all of his James Bond novels. (There was also a 1989 TV-movie about Fleming called Goldeneye, starring Charles Dance as Bond’s creator.) BBC reporter Gordon Corera, who allows that it “may not have been my most arduous assignment as a security correspondent,” recently toured Goldeneye. From the videos posted on the BBC site, it appears to be about the most agreeable place to dream up superspy adventures imaginable.

“Goldeneye is still a beautifully secluded spot which provided Fleming with many of the themes that were so important to the books,” writes Corera. “The house had its own private beach where Fleming would swim and snorkel, and the love of the water would be transferred from the author to his hero. Fleming set many of his books in Jamaica and the country was used as a location for the film Dr No and others.”

In one of the videos, Corera gets a tour of the Green Grotto, a series of caves on a nearby hideout that were used as Kananga’s hideout in Live and Let Die. He also gets a look at the private beach from which Fleming did all that swimming and snorkeling, inspiring many of 007’s underwater adventures. It’s actually an awful lot like Screengrab headquarters, so I’m not envious, but if you’re looking for a spot to write your own spy series, there’s good news. “Goldeneye is now a luxury resort owned by Chris Blackwell, who grew up close to the house and worked as a location manager and an extra on the first Bond film Dr No before founding Island Records.”

We checked out the resort’s website, and it turns out that you can stay in the Ian Fleming house for a mere $2500 per night. That’s in the off-season, of course. There are more affordable options, including a villa in Goldeneye Village for $660 per night. “Deep verandas, doors and windows that open wide inviting cool sea breeze, Goldeneye offers the best kind of out door living. Our aim is to make guests feel they are being entertained in the home of a good friend.” Hey, if we had good friends like that, we wouldn’t need your stinkin’ resort.

Max Von Sydow: Bergman's Violin

Phil Nugent — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:00:00 GMT

In a brief interview with Lynn Hirschberg in The New York Times Magazine, Max Von Sydow Max von Sydow talks about his long association with Ingmar Bergman, who died last year. “'He had been ill for almost a year, but we had been in close contact over the phone. . . . ' Von Sydow’s wife interrupted him. 'Tell about the last time he spoke about you,' she said. Von Sydow paused again. 'He said, "Max you have been the first and the best Stradivarius that I have ever had in my hands,” ' von Sydow recalled. 'We loved each other, and I know when he stopped working, when he became ill, he missed it. He missed his actors.' Von Sydow says that "working with Bergman was always worthwhile."

Not incidentally, working with Bergman made him a star. “I actually know the moment I became known. It was at the Cannes Film Festival, when they showed The Virgin Spring. I walked into that theater as one person and I walked out as another.” Of course, there's being known and then there's being known. in the early years of his international career, Hollywood thought it knew who Von Sydow was: a tall, stern-looking guy with a sinister accent who seemed impressively foreign. “They sent me Dr. No. They wanted me to play the villain. I said no. And then they offered me the part of Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told. I said yes to that. For years, Hollywood only asked me to play a villain or a biblical figure.” This past year, the 78-year-old Sydow had one of his best recent roles as the 92-year-old father of the paralyzed hero of Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. “After Julian sent me the script, we didn’t discuss it very much. He didn’t tell me that, in some ways, I would be playing his father. But movies are like that — I had never met Mathieu Amalric until the day of our first scene, and he had to shave me. It was rather intimate, and he did cut me. But it’s always that way: you’re supposed to be involved with someone in the film and you’ve just met them for the first time and then, 10 minutes later, you say, ‘I love you,’ and you are in bed.”